Laguna Hills Pounds Burbank in Penalty-Marred Game

Laguna Hills won’t be scheduling Burbank again any time soon. Laguna Hills defeated Burbank, 49-8, Friday night at Mission Viejo High, but along the way the Hawks endured a rash of cheap shots, taunting and several long delays due to altercations.

Afterward, Laguna Hills Coach Steve Bresnahan wondered if the victory was worth all the trouble.

“That’s a different brand of football than we are used to playing in Orange County,” Bresnahan said. “The sad thing is that we stooped to their level, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally too. It’s frustrating to end a game you win 49-8 like that.”

Laguna Hills running back Michael Jones, who started the night 70 yards short of former Servite back Derek Brown for third place on the all-time county rushing list, rushed for 110 yards in 26 carries, but seemed happier that the game finally ended.

“It took too long,” Jones said. “There were too many stupid calls. They started cheap-shotting and we got emotionally involved in it.”

Jones scored on runs of one and 10 yards in the first half, and finished the night with a career total of 4,934 yards, but he said he’s not thinking about records.

“I’m sure I’ll look back on this after the season is over, but right now, I’m not thinking about it,” he said.

Laguna Hills (3-0) wound up with nine penalties for 95 yards, and Burbank had 11 penalties for 125 yards, most of them dead-ball personal fouls. By the end, even the referees were bickering over the number of flags being thrown. Some officials wanted to get the game over and others were calling the game closely.

Jones, who suffered a slightly bruised left thigh in the first half, rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries in the first half as Laguna Hills took a 28-0 halftime lead. Surprisingly, Jones played a series in the second with his team comfortably in the lead.

“Michael needs to get some carries,” Bresnahan said. “We’ve given him two years of playing half the game and then by the end of the year, he’s not in good enough shape. We want to keep him fresh this year for the end of the season.”

Jones said he didn’t mind going back in.

“They were hitting us, I wanted to hit some of those fools back,” he said.

Jones came out after tight end Saia Makakaufaki scored on a 61-yard run after taking an inside pitch from quarterback Derek Stevens. Makakaufaki scored earlier on a 39-yard pass from Stevens. Jones’ replacement, Jeremy Miller scored the Hawks’ next touchdown on a 24-yard run that made it 41-0.

Laguna Hills was originally scheduled to play San Diego Monte Vista Friday night. But Monte Vista pulled out of the game in the spring and Bresnahan was left scrambling to find a game.

“They called us,” Bresnahan said. “We didn’t know anything about [Burbank] other than they were a Division II team.”

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KEEPING UP WITH JONES

The pursuit of the Orange County career rushing record by Laguna Hills’ Michael Jones, who gained 110 yards in the Hawks’ 49-8 victory over Burbank Friday:

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1. Ray Pallares 5,397 Valencia, 1983-85 2. Michael Jones 4,918 Laguna Hills, 1995- 3. Reuben Droughns 4,887 Anaheim, 1993-95 4. Derek Brown 4,878 Servite, 1986-88 5. Scott Seal 4,573 Irvine, 1990-92

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